The Joker (Batman 1989)
In Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film, The Joker 'was portrayed by Jack Nicholson. To date, this is the only version of the Joker to have an actual name prior to becoming the murderous clown that people are most familiar with. History '''Jack Napier, '''a hitman and lieutenant of Gotham City crime lord Carl Grissom, is set up to be disposed of after Grissom becomes aware that Jack is having an affair with his boss' mistress, Alicia. Grissom contacts corrupt GCPD detective Max Eckhardt and arranges for a police raid on the Axis Chemical Plant. During the raid, Napier kills Eckhart but is pursued by Batman. He shoots at Batman but his shot is deflected and ricochets across his face, scarring him. Napier then falls over a railing into a vat of waste chemicals and is presumed dead. However, he re-emerges and returns to meet his boss Grissom, who is mortified by Jack's transformation that has left him looking like a psychotic clown. Jack - now calling himself "The Joker" - proceeds to shoot Grissom and then takes over his criminal empire. With his control over Grissom's operations established, the Joker then plots to destroy Gotham during the city's upcoming anniversary celebration. He uses Axis Chemicals to concoct a deadly poison called "Smilex", a toxin that makes its victims laugh uncontrollably and die with a rictus grin on their faces. After tainting several cosmetic products all over the city with his poison, the Joker continues his crimewave by destroying several works of art and flirtatiously terrorizing journalist Vicki Vale, who Batman manages to rescue. On the night of the anniversary festival, the Joker organizes a parade and dumps $20 million in cash on the crowds. However, his plan is really to kill everyone by releasing Smilex gas from his parade balloons. As chaos washes over the streets, Batman arrives in his Batwing and snags the Joker's balloons, sending them drifting away above the clouds where they can do no harm. The Joker then shoots down the Batwing with an absurdly-oversized revolver and takes Vicki Vale up to the Gotham Cathedral Clock Tower. Batman survives the crash unscathed and pursues the Joker, battling his thugs on the way up the tower. He and the Joker finally square off on the belfry, but he and Vale are pulled over the edge and left hanging from a ledge. A helicopter soon arrives to lift the Joker to safety and secure his escape, but as he grabs the rope ladder, Batman fires his grapple and wires the Joker's leg to a stone gargoyle. The gargoyle breaks off and the Joker is pulled down by its weight. His grip on the ladder loosens and the Clown Prince of Crime plummets to his death. The police find the Joker's corpse lying on the cracked pavement, still smiling - and laughing - even in death. Commissioner Gordon pulls out a silk-covered box from the Joker's coat which repeats an electronic laugh over and over. List of victims Like his original comic book counterpart, this version of the Joker is a mass-murdering psychopath. He racks up a personal bodycount of 11 in ''Batman. * 'Max Eckhardt '- Corrupt police detective on Grissom's payroll; shot during the raid on Axis Chemicals. * '''Carl Grissom - Gotham crime lord and Jack Napier's employer; gunned down in his office. * Antoine "Tony" Rotelli - A Gotham gangster who is wary of the new direction the Joker is taking the syndicate. The Joker allieviates Antoine's concerns by electrocuting him with a deadly hand buzzer. * Vinnie Ricorso - An obese mobster that the Joker murders on the steps of Gotham City Hall by throwing a steel-tipped quill pen into his throat. * Candy Walker - A fashion model poisoned by beauty products tainted by the Joker's toxin. * Amanda Keeler - Another fashion model killed by tainted beauty products. * Becky Narita - A news anchorwoman who falls victim to the Joker's Smilex-tainted cosmetics. She laughs out loud on air until she keels over dead with the Joker's grin on her face. * Alicia Hunt - Carl Grissom's mistress who had an affair with Jack Napier. After becoming the Joker, Jack reveals himself to her and she faints from shock. The next time she appears, she wears a porcelain mask which hides a gruesome scar, possibly caused by the Joker's acid-squirting lapel flower. Unable to take the Joker's abuse, Alicia dies off-screen by throwing herself off a balcony. * Thomas Wayne - Father of Bruce Wayne. It is revealed in a flashback that the young Jack Napier was responsible for shooting Bruce Wayne's parents, thus leading to Batman's creation. * Martha Wayne - Bruce Wayne's mother, gunned down with her husband. * Bob the Goon - The Joker's right-hand man. After Batman disposes of the Joker's parade balloons, the Joker makes himself feel better by shooting Bob. Category:Movie Deaths Category:Villains Category:Psychopaths Category:Humans Category:Killers Category:Mass Murderers Category:Batman Characters Category:Batman (1989) Category:Final Showdown Category:Death by Falling